1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to heat transfer assembly, and more particularly to application and removal of thermal interface material (TIM).
2. Description of the Related Art
Integrated circuit (IC) devices and other electronic components are becoming increasingly faster, smaller, and thinner. Today's IC devices also come with added functionalities and capabilities, resulting in generating greater amounts of heat from the IC devices. As a result, IC packages are also getting smaller and are producing greater amounts of heat. The combination of producing greater heat and consuming greater resources, such as current, often results in lower reliability of the IC devices as maintaining the ideal temperature range becomes increasingly difficult. Furthermore, large amounts of heat produced by increasing number of electronic components, such as IC devices, may potentially damage individual electronic components, the IC package, and the equipment. Thus, many attempts have been made to improve the IC package so as to efficiently dissipate excessive heat.
Heat transfer mechanisms available today provide solutions by, for example, restricting the operation of IC devices to lower power levels, lower data rates, and/or lower operating frequencies. Conventional heat transfer mechanisms also have limited heat transfer capabilities due to size, location, and thermal limitations. Lacking an efficient heat transfer mechanism, the speed and power capabilities of the IC device and other electronic components may be severely limited.
Most heat transfer mechanisms employ heat transfer devices, such as heat sinks, to efficiently dissipate excessive heat. A heat sink is typically used as a conductor to dissipate excessive heat to prevent the IC device, and other heat generating electronic components, from overheating. The heat sink may be placed above the IC device with a thermal gap in between the heat sink and the IC device. The thermal gap may be filled with a TIM, such as grease, to provide the thermal conduction path between the heat sink and the IC device to improve heat transfer and dissipation.
A conventional TIM may include a gel, grease, or polymer-like material. However, the performance and reliability of the conventional TIM is typically not very good because of, for example, inherently low thermal conductivity. None of the conventional methods, apparatus, and systems provide for using a TIM that provides better reliability, performance, and thermal conductivity than the conventional TIM.
Furthermore, conventional methods, apparatus, and systems do not related to providing solutions for the application and removal of the TIM that may require a phase change when introduced to and removed from the heat sink. Conventional methods and apparatus are limited to reducing the current TIM thermal resistance, and requiring very high pressure to be applied on the IC package. The application of such high pressure negatively affects the reliability of the IC package and the TIM, resulting in lack of re-workability of the TIM, higher TIM resistance, and decreased TIM reliability.